Indiana Electors Officially Vote for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney

Indianapolis, IN -- Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita today presided over the Indiana Presidential Electors Meeting in the Indiana House Chamber. The 11 presidential electors officially voted to re-elect George W. Bush and Dick Cheney as President and Vice President of the United States, respectively.

The 11 electors who pledged to support their party's candidates were chosen at the State Republican Convention. Traditionally in Indiana, the state party conventions nominate an elector and an alternate elector for each congressional district in the state, along with two other electors and two other alternates who run "at large." The presidential electors for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates who receive the most votes in Indiana are then certified as the official presidential electors for the state. Indiana has never had a "faithless" elector. Each elector has voted for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates they have pledged to support.

Today's ceremony began with the posting of the colors, an invocation by Suffragen Bishop Dr. Leonard Scott from the Rock Community Church of Indianapolis, and the singing of the national anthem by Angela Hudson of Jeffersonville. Two former Indiana Secretaries of State played roles in today's ceremony. Sue Anne Gilroy read the Certificate of Ascertainment, which officially appoints the winning presidential electors to serve as Indiana's members of the Electoral College. Edwin J. Simcox gave the benediction. Once the electors were sworn in by Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard, the balloting began. The results were tabulated, and President George Bush was unanimously declared the winner in Indiana.

"The Electoral College gives the citizens of Indiana a larger say in who becomes President of the United States," Secretary Rokita said. "Without it, more populous states like California would dictate the outcome of presidential elections and dilute the meaning of our votes."

Copies of the Certificate of Ascertainment and the Certificate of Votes Cast will be sent to the Vice-President, the National Archives, the Chief Judge of the Southern District Court of Indiana, and the Indiana Secretary of State as required by federal law. The electoral votes from each state will be counted in a joint session of the United States Senate and House of Representatives scheduled for January 6, 2005.